The Used Car Business IS the Internet Business

San Diego Monday and Tuesday was a great location for the Auto Remarketing CPO Forum, The Certified Conference. I was fortunate enough to be invited to be on a panel of Dealers speaking on Inventory Management and being as this was a one room conference I got to see everyone’s presentations…so here’s my unofficial review of what you missed if you weren’t there.

First to present was Arianne Walker from J.D. Power Automotive Remarketing who had lots of great information on the customer awareness as well as motivators to purchase a Certified Pre Owned Vehicle. A couple stats I found interesting were almost 80% of CPO buyers set out to purchase a CPO vehicle and 42% of people found the exact car they purchased online. On a customer service note, not explaining all fees and charges created the biggest drop in satisfaction.

Next up was the panel I was on which included Howard Hakes from Hitchcock Automotive Group, Kevin Nachbar from McCarthy Auto Group and myself. The discussion was inventory management and quickly became how technology has taken over as the driver of used vehicle management. Each of us is on different inventory management software but agree it’s what you do with the information not the information that breeds success. Digital advertising was the choice of marketing with 14-25 pictures as the norm. It’s going to be an interesting ride as supply tightens even further in the next 18 months, get ready to have to inflate your game!

Premium Sponsor

View attachment 4290 RefreshFriday - 15% > 10% > 5% National Closing Averages are DROPPING! Let's find out why. Do you get the feeling your closing ratio is dipping on Internet leads? If not, have you been tracking it for the last 20 years? We have! In the early 2000s national... 15% > 10% > […]

I've been following this for quite a while now, I'm really wondering what's they play behind this... How it's going to take form. Amazon is not aiming to be an information center only, as we all know. https://www.amazon.com/Vehicles/b?ie=UTF8&node=10677469011... Where is Amazon going with this?

I have seen many threads, and many articles about the importance of video in the dealer space. To give you all some background I created a personal YouTube channel that was moderately successful for a time - https://www.youtube.com/zachhouseknechtgaming. I was consistent, creating... Need Opinions on Video Content

This is from our GM who is looking for help: I am looking for some help. I was using Conquest through V-Auto to price all of my new Ford and Chevrolet inventory. Chevrolet has introduced a program that you have to breakdown how you are arriving at your selling price (which I like), but... Pricing […]

Editors

Jeff Kershner

I’m the founder of DealerRefresh. I got my start in the dealer business when I was 18. From there I've worked throughout several departments within fixed to variable ops. Whether it’s managing the desk, perfecting sales process or studying online marketing and media trends, I absolutely love this business and the challenges it brings. On top of keeping up with DealerRefresh, I consult with dealerships and key industry businesses. My passion has been and continues to be helping dealers leverage new media to sell and improve customer service.

Alex Snyder

2019 marks Alex's 30th year in the car business. In that time he has had a front-row seat for the rise of the Internet and has been working to bring the online and offline dealership experience closer. Whether you knew him from his life at Checkered Flag or his years with Dealer.com/DealerTrack/Cox Alex has remained an opinionated DealerRefresh contributor who enjoys nothing more than to poke at the unsaid truths in our industry. He also helped found FRIKINtech.